13 Nights of Halloween
by Jacqy's Love
Summary: 13 random Halloween themed one shots for Cloud and Aerith. I will update each day until Halloween, enjoy! Some won't always be scary, though. HAPPY HALLOWEEN CloudxAerith CloudxAeris Cleris Clourith Clerith Cloud Aerith Aeris Halloween
1. Creepy Noises

13 Nights of Halloween

**Okay, this one is more fluffy than scary. But there will be more. Happy Halloween! Also, I will update this **_EVERY_** day until Halloween night!**

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Aerith adjusted her big black witch hat; a big red bow was tied around the top. She was wearing a small dark purple, strapless dress that hung five inches above her knees. Her hair was down, covering her back. She had on tall black boots, and was carrying a broomstick. She looked to the clock on the wall and sighed. "_Where is he? We're gonna be late!_"

Aerith had told Tifa and Yuffie that she would get Cloud to come to their Halloween party, and it only took a few kisses and batting of her lashes to finally get him to agree. She was dressing as a witch and he was going as a renaissance vampire. But it was 7:30 at night and they had to be at the party at 8, but Cloud wasn't home yet.

Aerith hurried over to the pumpkin shaped candy bowl and picked out a small lollipop and plopped it into her mouth. "_I swear! If he's not here in the next five minutes—_" Aerith fell onto the couch and turned on the t.v. to burn time as she waited for Cloud.

It was already nightfall out and Aerith couldn't exactly walk all the way to the party even if she wanted to, so she _had_ to wait for Cloud—otherwise she wouldn't be able to go at all. 7:30 faded into 8:00 and Aerith began to pace back and forth across the house out of nervousness and boredom.

The cold autumn winds hitched and the surrounding trees around their house began to creak and scratch against their house. "_What was that?_"

Aerith looked out the window and saw it was the bare maple tree branches making the noise. She shook her head and sat back on the couch. Aerith never really enjoyed being home alone_… especially at night_.

Just as Aerith got comfortable with the noise of the howling wind she heard something in the kitchen. Slowly, Aerith turned her gaze behind her and rose. She wearily wondered to the kitchen and peaked around the corner of the hall, making sure there was nothing in the room first. After having a good look around, Aerith stepped farther into the kitchen and examined what could have made the sound. She spotted the window above the sink was open, letting in cold autumn wind. A wave of relief washed over Aerith and she quickly hurried over to the window and closed it. _"Must've been the wind…"_

She headed back into the living room; the clocked said 8:10. "_Ugh! Where is he?_" Aerith placed her hands on her hips, and all of a sudden she heard some noise at the front door; "Cloud?"

Aerith walked to the door and opened it but nothing was there. "_Hmmph, swear I heard a knock…_" just as the door clicked closed she heard a lot crash come from the kitchen. She jumped at the sound and held her breath as she waited to hear if she heard right. It was silent.

"_Maybe I'm hearing things…_"

Aerith locked the front door and walked over to the phone and dialed Cloud's number. Just as it started to ring all the lights in the house went out. "_Oh, my word!_" the phone went dead.

Aerith squinted her eyes to make out any shapes in the room, her hands outstretched to feel anything in her way. All of a sudden Aerith felt something rub against her hands briefly; it felt like a body.

She jerked her hands away and covered her mouth. "_Something's in here!_"

Aerith held her breath and listened but it was quite. _"I imagined it…I imagined it…_" she hesitantly stepped away from the door and walked towards the kitchen. The moonlight lit the way as Aerith peered around the corner of the kitchen. After seeing the coast was clear she walked deeper into the room and glanced around the area, looking for anything suspicious. Aerith gasped as she saw the back door was wide open.

Aerith slowly backed away, bumping into something standing _directly_ behind her. She felt a man lean down to her ear and whisper; "…_Boo!_" but just as she felt the warmth of his breath she jerked her elbow into his stomach. But before she could step away the man spun her around in his arms, her attack was too weak to have caused any damage.

Aerith caught sight of the man's features as the moonlight shone down on them. She knew exactly who it was, only one man had that hairstyle.

Aerith narrowed her brow and slapped his face playfully; "Cloud! You really scared me!" He tried to hold back a smile as he saw how pale her face was. "It's Halloween; I thought people are supposed to be scared?"

"Not by their boyfriends."

Aerith adjusted herself in his arms but was tugged back by Cloud as he pulled off her witch hat and lowered his mouth to the curve of her neck; "Cute hat…" he kissed her soft skin as she giggled; "Okay, okay, I forgive you. Now get your costume on we can still make the party—"

Cloud gritted his teeth, he was hoping his scare tactic would make her want to stay home—but, it was a lost cause. She tiptoed to Cloud's ear; her hands rubbing down and up his chest slowly; "If you go to this party, I'll give you some _special treats tonight_." Her voice was a murmur of seduction and Cloud couldn't turn that down.

"I'll make that deal."


	2. JackoLantern

**This one is as fluffy as fluffy can get. But there will be a nightmarish chapter up tomorrow.**

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Cloud dropped the pumpkin to the table. Carving knives were spread out. A happy smile was plastered on Aerith's soft features as she glanced over pumpkin to pumpkin.

"Okay, you'll do the cutting—because you're good at handling pointy things. And I'll do the emptying on the inside. So cut a hole-thingy in the top." Cloud smiled shyly and cut a wide hole in the top of the pumpkin's head.

"Done."

"Okay! Now get to work on the others while I empty this suckers insides out."

Cloud saw the wide grin on Aerith's face that seemed to show that she really enjoyed this kind of thing. He, however, dreaded doing these childish games, but for her, _he'd do anything_. As he continued to cut tops on a few more pumpkins Cloud glanced over at Aerith; she was working hard to clear out the inside of the pumpkin's head. She looked so cute to him.

Only a few minutes passed by and all the pumpkins were finished being hallowed out.

"Okay. So now we gotta come up with some ideas for their faces." She turned to Cloud as they sat on their own chairs; "Have any ideas?"

Cloud shook his head; "Sorry. You're the imaginative one."

Aerith bit her lip and thought for a second; "Not to worry! I've got an idea."

"What?" Cloud leaned closer to Aerith, listening to what she was going to say next.

"We carve our own pumpkins—it could be of anything we want. Whoever has the better pumpkin wins."

Cloud smiled at her innocent game, "_She forgot to say what we win…_"

Cloud nodded his head, he didn't care if he didn't actually win anything her smile was a prize by itself. He scooted a pumpkin in front of himself and picked up a knife; "Okay—do we start now?"

Aerith took her own cutting utensil; "Start! And no peeking!"

Cloud held back a weak smile; "Of course not."

He started to carve into his pumpkin but stopped; "_What the hell should I carve?_"

He peeked over at Aerith, she was biting her lip as she cut into the orange skin of the fruit. Her brow was narrowed in a fashion as if she was carving a masterpiece. "_She's taking this so seriously… I love that about her…"_ Cloud trailed from his thoughts as an idea struck him. He picked up the knife and began to carve into the flesh of the orange fruit.

Aerith glanced at Cloud; "_Wonder what he's carving…?_" she tried to see what he was making but he tugged the pumpkin away;

"Thought you said no peeking?"

Aerith turned back to her pumpkin; "I wasn't peeking. I was—looking for a better knife."

"Right." Cloud smiled lightly and continued working on his own masterpiece.

"Oh, shoot!"

Cloud looked over at his girlfriend and saw a lopped off pumpkin piece on the floor. She cut off a piece she didn't want gone. Cloud hid his smile with a stern face;"Miss?"

"No—" She went back to carving the pumpkin, a look of determination in her soft green eyes.

The whole time Cloud carved his pumpkin he could hear Aerith growl with annoyance as she messed up and restarted. He gave her brief glances, just to see how she was doing. Her cheeks were puffed out, a normal sign she was displeased with something. He wanted to ask her how she was doing but knew she would just say she was doing fine… even if she really wasn't.

After just a few minutes Cloud had finished his carving of his jack-o-lantern. He put a small lit candle inside of the pumpkin, and leaned back against the chair, his arms crossed as he waited for her to finish.

It took a few more minutes until Aerith was done and she finally exclaimed; "Done!" she was so lost in her own carving she hadn't noticed Cloud was already finished.

"Are you—have you been done this whole time?" Cloud opened his mouth to answer but decided to shake his head; "I—uh, just finished after you."

A victorious smile spread on Aerith's face; "Oh, well, good. Okay, time to show them."

"Don't we need the lights out first?" Cloud stood and walked over to the kitchen light switch, turning it off.

"Mine first!"

Aerith turned her jack-o-lantern around, showing Cloud her carving and what a scary sight it was indeed.

Its eyes were lopsided and one was bigger than the other. One of the eyes was a diamond the other a sloppy triangle. Its nose was cricked and looked as if it took a few times to get it cut. Its mouth was a badly cut jagged smile.

Cloud stiffened his mouth as he realized he was smiling; "That's—uh… really good, Aerith."

"I know! The nose took a while to make, though. Okay your turn."

She reached over for his pumpkin but Cloud grabbed her hands; "Uh, actually—yours is a lot better than mine, I lose." He didn't want her to feel like hers was bad.

"No, come on show me!" Aerith moved away from Cloud and turned the pumpkin until she saw his carving.

Aerith smiled at what it was; the glowing yellow candle lit up its carving perfectly, it was three words;

"_I love you_"

Aerith covered her mouth, trying to hide her smile. She turned around and wrapped her arms around him as he took her mouth in a sweet kiss. After a few seconds, they broke away, allowing Aerith to murmur; "I think you win."

Cloud smiled and seized her lips in a deeper kiss.


	3. Nightmare

**Kinda scary chapter, this one. Please review and most importantly, ENJOY!**

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Aerith was running from a horrific beast—no, not a beast… more like a human that was experimented on its whole life. It was tall, a sickly yellow color, and had large arms long enough to touch the floor. Its head was completely bald, and it looked as if bolts were digging into its scalp. In its hands were two large knife-like objects, big enough to be confused for swords. This image was forever engraved into her mind, not only because of how frightening it looked. But what it was trying to do to her, how it smelled like decaying bodies, and how it thunderously screamed as it chased her was what made her able to never forget it.

As she ran she noticed she was in an old mansion, running down a long-almost endless-hall of flickering lights, creaking floorboards, and a dripping roof. On each side of the hall were doors, but every time she reached to open one, she'd realize they were locked. And if not locked, she would hear something on the other side banging on the door to get out.

Aerith didn't want to look behind her, she didn't want to see the monster chasing her, but her body would lead her to glance behind her if not to at least see if it was gone or _just behind her_. This time as she looked back at the beast, she saw it open its mouth to an inhuman size and howl at the top of its lungs, its thick spit like venom.

As quickly as she saw the sight she turned her gaze back to in front of her and quickened her speed of running. If she hadn't been so scared, she would have felt her feet bleeding from the dozens of cuts on her heals put there by the rotting floorboards giving way under her light weight.

She was dampened by the musky water dripping from the roof above her, and despite the white, short gown she was wearing and how fast the frigid air was hitting her body, she never felt cold. Instead, the air was humid to her. Her once soft brunette waves of curls were now stained and dirty. Her body pale from fear.

As if a sign of sure death, Aerith reached the end of the hall, her body slamming into a metal door. She slammed her fists into the cold steel of the door, hoping her little strength left was enough to open the door.

Just as she reached the door, she heard the blood chilling howl of the beast thunder behind her. She immediately looked behind her and saw the beast running from behind a corner and slamming into the weak, rotting wall of the mad house. For a split second, the beast stopped and stood to its fullest height, raising the two weapons in its hands as if it were a battle call.

It felt as though Aerith's heart fell to the floor at the sight of the beast beginning to run towards her. She quickly turned back to the door and began to jiggle the knob desperately—a sad attempt to escape from her soon doom.

The sound of its trampling feet was as fast as the sound of her heart pounding in her chest. Aerith glanced around the area, looking for anyway to escape her fast approaching death.

Like a million thunderous bolts of lightning, the beast howled once more, this time Aerith couldn't help but look back. Its howl paralyzed her with fear. Her body becoming like stone as she helplessly watched the monster drawing nearer to her.

Without any consent of her own, her body shivered violently as her legs suddenly became like jell-o, causing her to fall to her knees.

Just as the monster was close enough to surely kill her with its weapons, she screamed at the top of her longs, a final attempt of trying to end this sudden darkening scene.

She closed her eyes as if to accept her doom...

**…**

"Aerith! Aerith!" A familiar male voice woke Aerith, and as she opened her eyes, she saw Cloud's face painted with worry and confusion.

"Aerith, are you okay!" a look of sincere concern flowing through his Mediterranean eyes.

Aerith felt a weight the size of the moon lift off of her heart_. It was a nightmare_.

Even though she was now awake, she was still confused; "Wha—?"

"It's all right—it was just a nightmare."

Cloud gently tugged her body closer to his as he laid on to his back, Aerith's face resting on his chest.

"Sounded like you were running from something… what the hell was going on?" Cloud comfortingly brushed his hand up and down her back, trying to calm her scared nerves.

"It was so scary, Cloud. I had never seen something like this-this thing before—"

Hearing her voice becoming hoarse, Cloud placed a lingering kiss atop her head, trying to take away her fear; "It's okay, it's gone now."

Aerith nuzzled her face closer to Cloud's chest, shaking away the nightmarish sights and events she just experienced. "Cloud, will you stay up with me for a while…?"

Cloud securely placed the blanket around their bodies and placed another soft kiss on her forehead;

"Yeah, of course…"

As Cloud tightened his safe embrace he could feel Aerith nuzzle against his chest. "So, what was your dream about?"

"I'm not sure… it was so strange, though… I was running from a huge monster; it looked like a human but it was experimented on I think." Aerith paused and added in a yawn; "It had these huge knives… and it was running so fast. And I'm not sure why, but the roof was dripping water…I remember there were dozens of doors but something kept banging on them… Everything felt so real."

Aerith paused for a second, noticing Cloud hadn't said a word.

"Cloud?"

Still, nothing.

"Cloud?" she asked again, leaning on her elbow so she could see his face. But when she saw his dimly lit features, she noticed his eyes were closed. He really was asleep, even after she had been so frightened from her nightmare.

It hadn't been more than a few minutes and he was already asleep. Just as Aerith was about to shake him awake, Cloud wrapped his arms around Aerith, tugging her down to the bed until he was pinning her back to the soft cushion of the mattress.

Aerith was surprised at his acting but somewhere in the back of her head, she knew he was teasing her.

"Cloud, I really thought you were asleep."

Though it was dark, Aerith could see Cloud's boyish smile from the moon light. "It's not funny, Cloud. I was really freaked out by that monster."

Realizing Aerith really was scared and that she never admitted when she was scared, Cloud pushed aside the teasing and placed a soft, lingering kiss upon her forehead. "I wouldn't let _anything_ happen to you," he placed another gentle kiss on the tip of her nose, then at the corner of her lips.

Aerith couldn't hold back the soft smile on her face. The sense of safety from his embrace took away all of her fears. She really did feel like the safest person in the world when he was near her. She knew not even a nightmare could scare her when he was there with her.

She smiled and murmured softly; "I know."

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**HAPPY HALLOWEEN**


	4. Vampire Kiss

**Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

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"Cloud, hurry! We're going to be late!" Aerith called out as she adjusted her renaissance-styled dress.

"I'm coming—" Cloud mumbled back, he was tying on his vampire cape, the finishing touch for his costume. As he stepped out of the bathroom he saw Aerith peering into the mirror, adding on her dark red lipstick.

Hoping to convince her to not go to the party Cloud spoke as _charmingly_ as possible; "You know… we can just… _stay home tonight_?"

Without looking away from the mirror Aerith said; " I promised Yuffie and Tifa we'd be there tonight, Cloud."

Cloud sat on the edge of their bed, dreading the thought of going out like the way he was. There had to be a way to get her to stay home_… but what_?

She moved over to their dresser and began putting on some jewelry. "Remember to wear your vampire teeth, okay, Cloud?"

All of a sudden he thought of the perfect way to make her want to stay home. It was something that was her… _weak_ spot. Cloud rose to his feet and slowly walked over to wear she was, Aerith still clueless to the fact that he was directly behind her now.

To Aerith's surprise, Cloud gently grabbed Aerith's hands, a smile beginning to spread on her face from his tantalizing touch. He brought her hands down to her side. Alluringly, he slowly wrapped his hands around her hips, gently pulling her closer to himself.

"Cloud …what are you doing?" Aerith asked through quiet giggles.

Without answering, Cloud lowered his open mouth to the bend of her neck, imitating a vampire's bite. The feel of his warm mouth hovering over her skin was enough to get her heart racing at the speed of light. He gently began to close his mouth over her skin, his teeth erotically brushing against her. Instantly gaining all of her attention, Aerith tilted her head to the side, allowing him to continue kissing her so tenderly.

Aerith felt herself lost in his alluring and tempting kiss. He knew her well, he knew exactly where to kiss and how to kiss… and this—was her weak spot. Aerith really did want to go to the party… but now, it was the last thing on her mind.

She felt the wet warmth of his tongue flick against her skin, causing a quieted moan of approval to leave her open mouth. As he continued to kiss her neck, he tightened his hold on her, bringing her closer to him than before. Just as Aerith started to enjoy his enticingly well-placed kisses, she felt his mouth slowly travel to her collarbone as he moved his hands to her shoulders, pushing her dress sleeves farther down so he could kiss more of her exposed shoulder.

"If you're trying to get me to stay home—" she paused as Cloud began to kiss back up her neck and then she added; "…it's working…" he placed another lingering kiss on her neck as he continued to lure her to stay home.

Aerith could feel the balloon sleeves of her dress being pushed farther down as he placed fluttering kisses along her shoulder and collarbone. His kiss was an addictive sensation that Aerith never wanted to give up.

"I thought you said we didn't have to go?"

"No, you were trying to get me to stay home, I wanted to go to this party."

Just as Cloud and Aerith stepped into the bar Seventh Heaven, Yuffie waltzed up and greeted them. "So, what the hell took you two so long?"

"Our costumes, they were hard to put on."

Cloud looked to the floor and added in a mumble; "…and hard to take off—" just as he finished his sentence, Aerith elbowed him in the ribs.

Yuffie caught sight of the two acting weird, naturally, she began to examine them. And that was when she spotted it. Right on her neck, a reddish mark.

A mischievous grin spread on the ninja's face; she walked behind Aerith and Cloud and shouted; "Wow! Aerith—" Yuffie's voice was gaining the attention of the other friends, once she thought enough people were listening she finished her sentence; "It looks like a VAMPIRE SUCKED on your neck," she pointed to Cloud as she said "vampire". The whole room burst into "oohs" and "ow!s"

Aerith felt a wave of heat spread over cheeks as she realized Cloud had left evidence of his vampire kisses. She quickly covered her neck with her loose hair, hiding the love marks.

The attention from their friends eventually faded and Aerith quickly turned to Cloud and whispered; "Boy was a vampire costume a good pick for you."


	5. Candy Corn

**More Fluff. Cloud doesn't like candy corn... unless...**

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It was a windy October day. Aerith was laying against their bed, her back to the cushioning of the blankets. Cloud was bracing himself up on his elbow as he laid to Aerith's side.

"You don't like candy-corn?" Aerith flung another piece of sweet candy into her mouth as Cloud laid his head atop her stomach.

"It's too weird tasting…" he answered.

Aerith took out another piece of the candy and examined it; it was cast in three colors: a broad yellow bottom, a tapered orange center, and a pointed white top. She bit off the top white part of the candy corn; "How could you not like them, Cloud? They're so sweet." She nibbled off the orange center and added; "When was the last time you had one? You might like it now."

Cloud smiled against the soft cream-fabric covering her stomach. She always tried to get him to try something new, and just for her, Cloud would agree to try certain things at least just once. Aerith tossed the remaining bottom of the candy into her mouth as she felt Cloud's hands undo a few buttons on her cream sweater dress, exposing the flat valley of her stomach and belly-button.

Cloud placed a lingering kiss above her navel and breathed his answer against the softness of her skin; "I had one a long time ago."

Aerith felt Cloud place another kiss on her skin, causing her to giggle at his tender touch.

"Well, maybe you should try one again."

Cloud smiled against her stomach and turned his head to the side, resting against her steady breathing body. He was silent. Aerith could tell Cloud was avoiding trying the candy; she placed her hand on the back of his head, her fingers running through his sandy-colored spikes of hair.

"What if I feed it to you?"

Cloud turned his head until his lips were brushing against her skin; "I think I can do that."

Aerith smiled as she took out one piece of the Halloween candy and slowly brought it closer to Cloud's lips, just as the candy was close enough, Cloud opened his mouth to eat the sweet treat but it fumbled out of Aerith's grasp and rolled down her stomach until falling into the small grove of her navel. She tossed back her head and giggled at her own clumsiness; "Sorry," Cloud tried to fight the smile spreading on his face but couldn't. "It's okay,"

He kissed down Aerith's stomach until his lips were hovering above her navel. He opened his mouth over her belly button and kissed downward, taking the sweet treat into his mouth as he kissed her skin gently. Aerith felt the warmth of his mouth brush against her and closed her eyes to take in the tender feeling. After a second she felt his lips lift off of her, they both looked up at each other as Cloud chewed on the treat.

Aerith smiled, ""Well, how does it taste?"

Cloud gave a shy smile back to the brunette; "Tastes better off of you."


	6. Alone And Afraid

It was well into the night when Aerith heard a strange sound. She awoke to the sound of something skidding across her room floor. She shot up immediately and glanced around the room frantically, hoping that it was just some hungry mice nocking things over. And to her happy surprise, the room showed no signs of anyone other than herself. She peered over to her left and looked at the clock that read 3:33AM. Her eyes fell to the empty space besides her, the place where Cloud usually slept. She laid back against the bed and tightened the covers over her body. She always missed Cloud when he was gone extra-long for his delivery business.

Tonight, was Halloween night, and she was already spooked to be alone, but now the odd sound frightened her even more.

Instead of giving into her worries, she closed her eyes to try and get more sleep. After just a few minutes she shot her eyes open at the sound of her room door creaking. Without moving her body, she glanced at the door through the corner of her eyes and saw the door was slowly, almost unnoticeably, creaking open.

As if the very air in her lungs were tied to the door, Aerith could feel her air leave her as she held her breath nervously. After just a few nerve wrecking seconds the door suddenly stopped creaking open. Aerith waited a few minutes, waiting to see if someone would appear, but nothing.

Slowly, Aerith stepped out of her bed, making sure to not make any noise as she walked to the door. She hesitantly peered out of the door, trying to see if there was anything in the hall. To her relief, there was nothing to be seen.

Happily, Aerith walked back to bed and rolled onto her side, closing her eyes to get some sleep after the small scare. After just a few minutes, Aerith noticed her blanket was slowly being tugged off of her. Thinking it was just in her head, she tugged the blanket back over her and tried to fall asleep.

All of a sudden she felt a cold hand briefly touch her leg. Aerith knew this strange encounter wasn't just her imagination. She quickly shot up and looked around the room. Goosebumps were starting to rise on her arms as the air suddenly became frigid. Despite the heater being on, Aerith could now see her breath.

_What's going on?_

From down below, Aerith heard something scratching across the floorboards under her bed.

Slowly, Aerith centered herself on the bed, making a good distance between her or the edge of the bed. Just then she saw a black shadow rising from under her bed.

_What is that?_

_

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_

…_To be continued…_


	7. Alone And Afraid: Part II

Alone And Afraid: Part II

Just as Aerith saw the shadow she blinked and saw that it had disappeared.

_It was just my eyes messing with me, that's all…_

Even though Aerith was trying to assure herself that it was just her mind playing tricks she couldn't help but notice the fear inside of her that was quickly snowballing. Still, despite that fear, she decided the best thing to do was to get some rest. She curled up in the center of the bed, her thick blanket tucked underneath her feet, a tactic to keep something from grabbing her.

Although she was still nervous, she closed her eyes anyway. After all, ghost weren't real.

After a few minutes, Aerith's worry faded.

_It was just my mind playing tricks_

But as soon as she felt she was asleep she heard the stuff scooting around down stairs. Aerith sat up again and looked around the room. She wasn't one to let her curiosity get the best of her, but, she had to see what it was.

She took out a flashlight in the dresser besides her bed and walked to the door. She slowly peeked out of the door, seeing the coast was clear. Just as she was about to leave she heard loud, heavy steps walking up the stairs, heading straight towards her bedroom.

She jumped back into bed and hid under the covers nervously as she awaited the sound to enter her room.


	8. Alone And Afraid: Part III

**Storms ALL DAY LONG. So sorry for the rushness! Also this had to end this way due to the rushyness :( better than the other one, though**

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Just as the sound stopped in front of the door, Aerith was sure whatever was out there was going to enter her room.

But no matter how long she waited, nothing entered the room. That couldn't have been her imagination, it sounded too real. It couldn't have just been her mind playing tricks. She heard the rumbling of the steps, the sound of the floor boards creaking under the weight.

Still, despite the realistic sound of someone walking up the stairs, nothing appeared to be around.

_Maybe… I am just… freaking myself out. Still… _

Aerith slowly scooted off of the bed and stepped near the door, peering through the crack in the door. The coast seemed to show no sign of anyone. Even though she was hesitant, she stepped out of the door. It sounded as though it was beginning to thunder, a storm was quickly brewing. She was at the top of the staircase; she looked left then right… seeing no signs of anyone. She sighed from the huge sense of relief and turned back to her room.

As soon as she laid down into bed she immediately closed her eyes. And it seemed as if she could finally get some rest… how wrong she was, though.

After only a few minutes Aerith awoke to a strange feeling lightly wrapping around her neck. Thinking it was just her hair, she adjusted herself until she was laying her back against the bed, the feeling was now gone. She closed her eyes again and noticed the air was even more cold than before. She quickly tugged the blanket farther up and began to doze off. And after just a few minutes she felt the blanket slowly scooting off of her body. Without moving, Aerith opened her eyes, paralyzed from fear. She glanced down and saw the blanket moving off of her, but nothing was there.

Right as Aerith tried to get up she felt something cold rushing up her body. She would have moved from the bed but it felt like it was holding her in place. Aerith could hear her heart start to pound rapidly from fear, like a hammer against cloth.

After a few seconds of the blood chilling situation, the cold sensation stopped, allowing Aerith to sit up straight. Her whole body was shaking with fear, fear from the unseen presence in her room. As immediately as she sat up Aerith was pushed back down to the bed by a strong force. Her heart was beating at the speed of light now, her limbs felt like noodles from the fear running through her body.

She didn't know what was going on but she knew it wasn't just her mind this time, it was real. All of a sudden, the room's temperature dropped quickly as she felt something wrap around her throat, almost as if hands were there. She tried desperately to get out of its grasp, but her body's strength was useless against the super natural being that was attacking her. Aerith began to feel light headed as the last remaining amounts of oxygen were delivered throughout her body. She felt her green eyes were now bulging and red as she moved her hands to try and pry off whatever was on her. But her flailing limbs did nothing to the invisible beast.

The sound of her fast beating heart was slowing, a sign of her body giving up. She tried to desperately take in air, but the grasp of the invisible beast's hands were too tight.

Her lungs were like dried sponges, the oxygen like water. Her mind was flashing at the speed of light, unsure of what to do and whether or not she'll live from this terrifying scene. Aerith felt her vision going black when all of sudden she felt a tender yet strong grasp on her arms. It was a comforting feeling, a feeling of safeness. Maybe this was death, a comforting feeling at the end of so much pain.

No… this couldn't be her death, she couldn't die now, not like this. This had to have been a dream… right? People aren't supposed to be able to die in dreams, that's not supposed to happen.

One last comforting thought came to Aerith's mind before she closed her eyes, it was Cloud— even though he wasn't there she somehow could hear his voice, she couldn't make out what it was but just hearing his tone made her heart less scared. All of a sudden she felt the soothing touch on her arms shake her body. Despite the calming feeling, the painful choking around her throat worsened.

Just as her lids closed she was pulled into reality.

"Aerith! Wake up! Wake up!"

The male voice was loud and shaky with worry. As soon as Aerith awoke she saw Cloud's face, shock swirling behind his blue eyes.

Aerith gasped for air as she realized it was just a nightmare.

"Aerith, are you okay?"

Even though she was still in a daze, she slowly whispered his name; "Cloud—"

"You were having a nightmare. You were gasping like hell. You scared the shit out of me when you wouldn't wake up. Aerith, what the hell was going on?"

Without answering, Aerith threw her arms around Cloud and buried her face into his chest. Even though it was a nightmare, she just wanted to feel his arms around her.

Cloud wasn't sure what her nightmare involved, but he knew it frightened her. He lowered his head to the bend of her neck and kissed lightly.

"I was so scared—"

Cloud moved and looked Aerith in the eyes and kissed her forehead.

"It's all right, Aerith. It wasn't real."

Aerith tried to stop the tears from building behind her eyes, but the nightmare felt so real, it was a hard thought to push away.

"I'll stay up with you as long as you want, all right?"

Hearing his gentle and loving tone, Aerith felt a new sense of safety in his arms. Aerith drew a breath against Cloud's chest and murmured half jokingly; "I hate Halloween…"

Cloud smiled weakly, "Me too…"

The next day Aerith awoke and headed into the bathroom. She quickly washed her face to wake herself but something in the mirror caught her attention. There were bright red marks around her neck, as if something had choked her.

_"What the?"_


	9. Haunted House

**This one is themed Haunted House! **

* * *

"Oh, I can't believe we're going into that thing!"

"It's not even that scary, Aerith."

A cold wind blew past their bodies and Aerith moved closer to Cloud, taking some of his warmth. The brunette woman couldn't believe what she and her boyfriend were about to do. It was dangerous. It was creepy. It was haunted. And most importantly, it was All Hollow's Eve.

The two lovers were standing outside of a huge, old building; one of the scariest places to visit in Nibelheim—the old Shinra Mansion. There were stories of scientific experiments and murders, and everyone made sure to steer clear from such a nightmarish place as it.

The mansion was tall and wide, dozens of windows lined the walls, and some of the windows were broken and boarded over either to keep others out or… _to keep something inside_. There was a tall broken metal fence around the entire area of the mansion. Browned vines crawled up the fence, blocking any view of the yard.

Aerith wanted to turn back and leave but she knew it was going to take a lot to get Cloud to back out of this scary journey. It was all Hollow's Eve and Cloud wanted to do something fitting for the holiday. And instead of dressing up in some stupid costumes he took Aerith here, to the scariest place around.

Cloud stepped forward and pushed open the gate, "Let's go."

Aerith hesitated at first, looking left and right, then back at the gateway. "Uh-uh. No way, Cloud. Can't we just go home?"

Cloud turned and faced Aerith; "Look, if you get really scared inside I'll take you out, okay?"

Aerith bit her lip and looked skyward; the moon was a bright yellow, a few clouds were floating pass. All of a sudden an owl hooted causing Aerith to jump with fright.

"Fine, I'll go! But I never said I was scared—"

Cloud turned and headed towards the door of the mansion, he felt Aerith grab onto his arm, making sure to stay close. They arrived at the doorstep. Cloud pushed open the door, making a quiet creaking sound. As soon as the door was opened Cloud and Aerith could see inside of the house, it was pitch black inside. Cloud took out his flashlight and switched it on. With Aerith still by his side, he stepped into the mansion.

The second the door behind them slowly closed, they could tell exactly where they were. The whole house smelled of dust and old furniture causing Aerith to sneeze. The broken windows allowed some of the moonlight to peek through, leaving blotches of orange tinted light on the old, rotted floorboards. Out of the corner of her eye Aerith caught sight of a silhouette, but it turned out to be a few white curtains blowing in the breeze from the broken panes of glass. Aerith drew a breath of bravery and continued walking forward with Cloud when all of a sudden he stopped.

"All right, we're gonna check this floor first then check up top. This is a pretty big mansion so we'll start with over here…"

Cloud walked towards the left side of the house. This room looked to be a dining room. A table was off to the left side of the room, surrounded by a round-cove-like area, a set of windows on the walls. Over to the right was a piano, dusty from the many years it's remained unplayed for. Cloud walked over to the old instrument and played a few random notes. The notes were a little off but sounded eerie nonetheless.

Aerith glanced around the dimly lit room, the broken window in front of her caught her attention. She walked over to it and peered outside. There was a thick forest surrounding the entire area, their branches were bare. Leaves were sucked up into the air as a large gust of arctic wind blew past. The moon's light was hidden as a group of clouds floated past, but as soon as they hid the light they were gone. And for a brief moment Aerith caught sight of something down below, rustling in the fallen leaves. She squinted her eyes to get a better look but all she could make out was a silhouette of some sort.

"What is that?"

She moved closer to the window, trying her best to make out what she was looking at. The shadow was hunched over under a tree, its limbs looked to be larger than average. The shadow looked to be moving its limbs, but why? Aerith's curiosity enticed her to look at it closer. She moved forward, her face closer to the pane of broken glass. All of a sudden the silhouette stopped, Aerith's breathing following its suit. Did it sense her watching it? The shadow turned around to face the window, its small eyes glowing a burning red. All of a sudden she jumped at the feel of Cloud's hand on her shoulder, tugging her to look at him.

"What are you looking at?"

Aerith caught her breath after realizing Cloud was next to her; "I think there's an animal or something down here…" the two turned back towards the window, glancing around the moonlit yard. It was empty, only the trees could be seen.

"Nothing's out there. Come on."

"No, Cloud. There was something down there."

Cloud and Aerith quickly left the dining room and headed upstairs to the second floor.

Once on the second floor, Cloud and Aerith saw two pathways, left…and right.

"Which way, Aerith?"

She looked left then right, trying to make a decision for Cloud's question.

Aerith looked up at Cloud; "Is neither an option?"

"No."

"Fine… right."

"Good choice."

They took a right and headed down the hallway. As they hesitantly stepped across the floorboards, Aerith could hear the weak wood crack under their feet. The walls were aged, paint was chipped and peeling everywhere. The windows lining the wall to Aerith's right had their glass intact but they were stained and covered with dust and some dried water marks. Aerith couldn't help but think of how gross the house looked. It was definitely something eerie enough to confuse for a horror film.

_"This place looks like it's straight out of a scary movie."_

All of a sudden the wind picked up and began to rumble the shutters of the windows. The whistling sound of the wind and the sound of the wooden shutters knocking against the house made Aerith jump slightly. Although she didn't say anything, Cloud could tell Aerith was startled by the way she was holding onto his arm.

"Relax— it's just the wind. "

"I know that! Sheesh!"

"Yeah, well, you seem pretty damn scared of the wind."

"Who said I was scared?"

"No one. Just the way _your digging your fingers into my arm_, that's all."

Aerith immediately let go of his arm as soon as she realized that she _was_ holding on to him.

"It's dark, I don't want to trip."

She crossed her arms and bravely walked forward, opening the door to a long room. Four beds were aligned against the wall opposite of a door leading somewhere else. The walls were covered in peeling wallpaper; the floorboards were grey with dust. A small sheet-covered couch was placed along the opposite wall with an end table to its right, an oil lamp on top. There was a large set of windows, used to look over the small town. Cloud walked over to peer out the wide glass and noticed large clouds were brewing above them.

"It's going to storm." Cloud called out as he turned and saw Aerith heading in his direction.

"Then we should go before it gets strong."

Cloud's eyes locked with hers for a moment before his attention was drawn back to the hallway.

"Okay, we'll leave—"

"Good."

"After we check out that other room."

"What other room?"

Cloud walked to a closed door and opened it; "This room," Cloud leaned into the room, noticing it was a long spiral staircase leading downward. "Whoa, look at this, Aerith."

Aerith quickly ran over to Cloud's side and peered into the room.

"Oh, my god, Cloud. We're not going into a dungeon!"

"It's not a dungeon, it's more like a—basement if anything." Cloud grabbed Aerith's hand and started to walk down the long staircase.

* * *

**To be Continued**


End file.
